www.kcriverfronttrail.org - New web site with information on this upcoming multi-use trail linking several areas along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers in the central city. This is a great project that will connect Downtown KCMO with Downtown KCK, including the River Market area, Berkley Riverfront Park, the Town of Kansas site, the West Bottoms, Penn Vally Park and Liberty Memorial, and Union Station. more info and links about this trail

An interesting opinion on why the U.S. news media were so blatantly biased towards the Bush Administration during the latest Iraq invasion, despite a huge pent-up demand for progressive radio voices. Media conglomerates are desperately lobbying for a June 2 FCC decision to remove the remaining few restrictions on media ownership. The proposal would make it legal for one company to own all radio, television, and newspaper outlets in one city. Fortunately progressive and liberal radio seems to be on the verge of a break out, thanks to a surge in Internet radio stations like i.e. America Radio, radiopower.org and Democracy Now.

Folk and country music lost an amazing woman today. Singer, songwriter, musician, actor, member of the Carter Family, wife of Johnny Cash - she will be sorely missed. Tennessean story and CMT biography.

All of a sudden Kansas City is a hotbed for New Urbanism projects - attempts to create new neighborhoods that revive the best aspects of older town centers with homes, businesses, schools, and parks all within walking distance of each other.

The Northland is leading the way with several projects under construction: Shoal Creek Valley, Zona
Rosa, Renaissance North, and Northgate
Village; and the proposed Tuilleries Plaza. Eastern Jackson County, MO has proposals for Little Blue Valley in Independence and New Longview Farm in Lee’s Summit. Even the Kansas side is hopping on the bandwagon with the modest New Village at Prairie Haven in Olathe and the proposed Lenexa City Center. These days suburban sprawl is inevitable, so it is important that we try our best to make sure it is as sustainable and timeless as possible.

Sometimes we need a reminder.

Tornados ravaged much of the Midwest yesterday, including western and northern portions of the Kansas City area,
where hundreds of houses have been damaged or destroyed.
-KC Star summary
-National Weather Service map
-Photos
-twister video (Windows Media)
-How to help

I saw lots of people out storm chasing/spotting. Case Park on the bluffs Downtown was packed with people watching the storm move across the Northland, as was the road around the Downtown Airport.
This was probably the worst tornado in the immediate KC area since the
1957 Ruskin Heights tornado
(More Photos
/ Story)

Some of the storms on May 4th that produced several tornadoes across Kansas City and the rest of the Midwest.

Steve Jobs has managed to do what no one else has done so far - wrangle realistic digital music licensing terms out of the big five record companies. Apple's new iTunes Music Store is an amazing achievement: 99¢ per-track downloads, $10 albums, and reasonable digital rights management that allows you to burn to CD or transfer to an iPod. The community is already finding coolio ways to extend the service.

-Linking to Music Store info or XML data.

-Sharing iTunes music over the Internet.